"Never found the switchbacks on the way up. I climbed up to the ridge way too earlier and wasted an hour slowly sidehilling through cliff bands. Astounding views from the summit. This has to be one of the best situated peaks in Los Padres. Didn't do much better finding the trail on the way down, but at least I chose a better line down." — edg • Nov 12, 2021

"I've been doing a lot of miles on the MTB lately and this is why...SANTA BARBARA BIG FOUR IN A DAY! 4 Peaks, 46 miles, and 9000 ft elevation gain. Car to car in 14.5 hours starting by headlamp at 4am. Madulce Peak was summit # 4 of 4. As I stood at the junction with the Madulce Trail I was still feeling strong, but knew that I had 7 miles and ~2000 ft of elevation gain just to get back to where I was standing. I set of at a quick pace and made good progress, but the further I went along, the more the trail deteriorated. In most places it was nothing more than a faint line of tamped down pine needles pressed into the forested slope. About a mile before the summit, the trail makes a sudden turn up-slope into a series of twenty or so switch backs. The turns are mostly marked with carins and orange/pink flagging tape, but it requires constant focus and diligence to not get off-route. The summit has the foundations of an old lookout and as such has great views of the surrounding area - it's the highest point in the Dick Smith Wilderness. Madulce is a worthy summit, just so damn remote. Having succeeded in getting all 4 peaks, it was 4pm, I had been moving for 12h and I still had a..." — klotito • Apr 28, 2018